Property of the week: This 17th century home still features its historic watermill

Situated in an idyllic setting on the River Black Bourn, just outside the village of Ixworth, Suffolk, this historic property overlooks a picturesque mill pond complete with an island.

The most intriguing feature of this Grade II listed, five-bedroom property is the watermill itself, which retains much of the original mill machinery. It is thought that there has been a mill on the site since the Domesday and the current mill was built in 1800 on the site of a former medieval version.

It's understood that Mr Lowe was the miller in the late 18th and early 19th century, and a carving on an internal timber shows 'I Lowe 1800'.

Savills

The property, aptly named The Watermill, covers 5,858 square feet and also comes with two bathrooms, a dressing room, three reception rooms and outbuildings. The ground floor reception hall has lime stone floors and a wood burner, evoking a rustic character. The dining room is well-proportioned and holds a red Inglenook fireplace and an oil-fired Aga.

The gardens are superb, and in addition to the mill pond with the island, they include a walled garden, terrace and informal gardens stretching across three acres. Pretty lawns with mature trees, flower beds and shrubberies lead to sluice gates. The mill pond is surrounded by wide brick terracing and mown walkways. And the whole area is a nature lover's paradise, buzzing with wildlife from swans and kingfishers to otters.

Local amenities include a general store, butcher, restaurant and two pubs together with a primary and secondary school. The house is also not too far from the market town of Bury St Edmunds with a wider array of facilities.

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